Typically, in a transalkylation process, a heavy alkylbenzene (HAB) byproduct is trans-alkylated with benzene to form additional linear alkyl benzene (LAB) product resulting in an increase in desired linear alkylbenzene product with no increase in the paraffin/olefin feed input. Also, the resulting LAB is comparable in quality to LAB produced in the alkylation process.
However, it has been noted that the HAB conversion is quite low when using with a conventional transalkylation catalyst. Replacing the conventional catalyst with a denser and less acidic catalyst results in catalyst poorer performance due to the reduced acidic nature of the catalyst.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved transalkylation processes and apparatuses for achieving the desired HAB conversion. There is a need for improving the activity of the transalkylation catalyst to achieve a desired conversion level without deterioration of catalyst performance being deteriorated. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present subject matter will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the subject matter and the claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and this background of the subject matter.